1858 Canadian Penny

Quick answers

Is the 1858 Canadian Penny rare?

Yes, by the standards of Canadian pennies. With 421,000 struck, the 1858 Canadian Penny ranks as the lowest mintage of the 151 Canadian cent dates and varieties we track.

How many 1858 Canadian pennies were made?

421,000 were struck for circulation.

What is the 1858 Canadian Penny made of?

Bronze (95% copper, 5% tin and zinc). It weighs 4.54 g and measures 25.4 mm.

Is the 1858 Canadian Penny still legal tender?

Yes. The Royal Canadian Mint stopped distributing cents in 2013, but they remain legal tender. Cash payments are rounded to the nearest five cents, so most pennies now sit in jars or go to banks.

How to recognize it

Leonard Charles Wyon's young portrait of Victoria faces left with a laurel wreath tied in her hair. VICTORIA DEI GRATIA REGINA runs around the edge, with CANADA below the bust. On the reverse, ONE CENT and the date 1858 sit inside a beaded circle, ringed by a continuous vine of maple leaves. The coin measures 25.4 mm across and is struck in bronze of 95% copper with tin and zinc making up the rest. If your coin shows an older queen with a diadem instead of laurel leaves, it is a Dominion cent from 1876 or later. Read the final digit carefully, because a worn 8 and a worn 9 can look surprisingly alike.

1858 Canadian Penny by the numbers

By the numbers, the 1858 Canadian Penny is the lowest of 151 Canadian cent dates and varieties from 1858 to 2012. The next more common is the 1907 H Canadian Penny (800,000).

Compared with the dates around it, the 1858 output was 23 times fewer than 1859.

What to check on your 1858 Canadian Penny

• Check the color. Collectors describe copper cents as red, red-brown or brown; original red color is worth far more than toned or dull surfaces.
• Never clean it. Rubbing, polishing or dipping leaves fine scratches and an unnatural color that collectors spot at once.
• Look at the high points of the portrait and the lettering. Wear there sets the grade. The grade in turn drives the value of older cents.

At 421,000 coins, the 1858 has the smallest circulation mintage of any Canadian cent, just over half the 800,000 of the 1907-H, which comes next. Even well worn examples bring a collector premium and coins that keep sharp leaf veins and hair detail are in steady demand. Natural brown color matters a lot; a scrubbed or bright pink surface cuts interest sharply. Because the 1859 is common and identical apart from the date, an altered last digit is something to rule out with a magnifier. A coin with a suspicious 8 deserves a second opinion before you treat it as the real thing.

Province of Canada cents, 1858 to 1859

Canada's cents begin with the Province of Canada, the union of what are now southern Ontario and Quebec. In 1858 the province moved its accounts from pounds, shillings and pence to dollars and cents, so it needed coins to match. Silver 5, 10 and 20 cent pieces were ordered from the Royal Mint in London, along with a bronze cent for everyday change. Leonard Charles Wyon engraved a young Queen Victoria with a laurel wreath in her hair, framed by VICTORIA DEI GRATIA REGINA with CANADA under the bust. The reverse set ONE CENT and the date inside a beaded circle wrapped in a vine of maple leaves.

The cent was built around a tidy figure: it weighed one hundredth of a pound, 4.54 g, on a 25.4 mm flan. The order was also far bigger than the province could use. Ten million coins were struck, just 421,000 of them dated 1858 and the rest 1859. People used to British coppers and local tokens were slow to accept them. Banks and the government sat on unissued stock for years. That surplus is why no more cents were struck for the province and it kept the young Dominion supplied until it finally ordered its own cents in 1876.

Only two dates belong to this group, so the date tells you almost everything. The 1858 is the scarce one by a wide margin, while the 1859 turns up regularly in old accumulations. To be sure you have a provincial cent and not a later Dominion one, look for the laurel leaves in Victoria's hair; cents from 1876 onward show an older queen wearing a diadem and weigh more. Wear shows first on the hair and the leaf veins. Even brown color is normal; a bright pink surface usually means cleaning.

Mintage chart

Specifications

Frequently asked questions